Film-maker shifts narrative on beer
|Published
DURBAN - FILM-MAKER and brewer Obakeng Malope, 33, believes that beer is a craft and should get the attention it deserved as an art, through film.
She believed people should stop looking at beer as just the end product: the brewery industry has suffered devastating impacts because of the pandemic, and if people took a closer look at the production of beer, the brewing industry and the film industry could join forces to keep other people’s dreams alive.
The film-maker, who was born in the North West province but resides in Johannesburg, wanted to change the narrative around alcohol consumption and beer, particularly.
“People should be more insightful about the beer they consume. They need to understand beer like craftsmen. Beer is not something to be consumed with the sole aim of getting drunk, which subsequently leads to reckless behaviour,” said Malope.
“We understand the method of making beer, we understand the hops and we appreciate this art form, as well as the artists who make it. These artists create jobs, and contribute to the tourism sector in their small communities. Beer also plays an important role when it comes to communicating with ancestors and it also brings people together during feasts and other events.”
She proposed that documentary film-making be used to enlighten people about the hardships of the craftsmen and everything in between, when it comes to the production of beer.
“There is more than what meets the eye, people tend to just focus on the negative effects of getting drunk. I am encouraging responsible drinking but, perhaps, if people were to understand beer from the perspectives of those who make it, they would appreciate it more.”
Malope studied introduction to brewing, under the Brewsters Craft, and got an online scholarship from the US-based Black Beer Chick, to study Master Cicerone.
She now works hand-in-hand with the Beer Association of South Africa and Craft Beer Association of South Africa, as a photographer and videographer, looking at the health of small breweries. She used her content on her social media pages, to educate people about what beer is and why it is a form of art.
“Beer is art. Its ingredients are basic – barley, hops, water and yeast. But not many know that you can add cherries, strawberries, chocolate (dessert beers), and drink them with ice cream, cakes and pudding,” she said.
“You can add almost anything in beer. Different beers can be paired with different foods and as a cicerone. I need to taste notes from the pairing. Those notes and balancing from the cherry ale, if you add cherries; or pumpkin ale, if you add pumpkin.”
Malope ventured into documentary film-making through the DStv Skills and Training programme. She has also gone on to win awards in the film industry, following her contribution to a Fighting Homophobia film, which won a Special Mention Tag award in 2012.
She has also made a documentary about rapper Mr Selwyn, which played on Mzansi magic. Most recently, Malope was a judge during the 2021 South African Music Awards, and twice on the jury for the South African Film and Television Awards.
She has, in the past, been selected as a board member of the Documentary Film Association and has had the privilege to also open the first-ever South African Film summit, by the Department of Arts and Culture, in 2019. She is calling on the government to fund women who want to venture into beer brewing.
“People should not just be consumers of beer or alcohol for that matter. They must do research and aspire to start their own brands.”
Daily News